How to revolutionize playbooks for today's modern buyers

This article comes from Mike Eckhoff’s insightful talk at our 2024 Los Angeles #GTM24 summit, check out his full presentation here.

As a seasoned Chief Revenue Officer, I've seen my fair share of sales strategies come and go. But today, I want to talk about why it's time for sales to take a page from America's favorite pastime and revolutionize our approach.

Mike Eckhoff here, and I'm about to take you on a journey that might seem a bit left field at first. We're going to talk about baseball. Yes, you heard that right – baseball. But stick with me, because by the end of this article, you'll see why the evolution of baseball analytics holds the key to transforming your sales game.

In the 50s and 60s, baseball was the undisputed national sport. Everyone loved it. But over the years, things have shifted – both in baseball and in sales. The way we approach the game has changed dramatically, and it's high time sales followed suit.

We're going to explore how sports took a new, data-driven approach, and why sales needs to step up to the plate and do the same.

So, grab your metaphorical mitt, and let's dive into the world of data-driven sales plays. We'll cover everything from understanding key metrics to mapping the buyer journey and even the future of AI-guided sales. By the end, you'll be ready to hit a home run with your modern sales strategy.

Ready to play ball? Let's get started!

Why baseball? The sales connection you never saw coming

Now, I know what you're thinking. "Mike, what does baseball have to do with sales?" Well, I promise it'll make sense.

Let's break it down. Baseball, like sales, is a grind. While football teams play 17 games over 18 weeks, and hockey and basketball teams play 82 games over 20–25 weeks, baseball teams play a whopping 162 games over 25 weeks. It's relentless, just like sales.

In baseball, the best performance in history was a 76% win rate. Even the greatest hitter of all time, Ty Cobb, had a career batting average of .366 – meaning he failed to get on base almost two out of three times he stepped up to the plate.

Sound familiar? In sales, we face rejection daily. We need to have that same short memory that baseball players have. If you're thinking about your past failures, you're probably not going to pick up the phone and make that next cold call.

Now, let's talk about a little book (and movie) called "Moneyball." For those who haven't seen it (and if you haven't, you should!), it's about how the Oakland Athletics, led by general manager Billy Beane, used data and analytics to drive behavior in recruiting, player selection, and game strategy.

Before "Moneyball," baseball recruiting was all about old guys driving around, watching kids play, and saying, "Man, that kid looks good. I'm gonna recruit him." But Beane challenged this concept. He focused on understanding the key metrics that make players contribute in a specific environment and system.

The results? The Oakland A's, a team in complete rebuild mode, won over 100 games in a season – a rare and incredibly high-performance feat in baseball. This approach changed baseball forever and bled over into other sports.

So, why not sales?

Time for a change

Two companies ago, I had this massive playbook. We're talking a 51-page deck with multiple pages for each stage, links to videos, training materials, data sheets – you name it.

We even paid a consulting firm $50,000 and spent eight weeks going through our processes to create this masterpiece.

The reality? It was an outdated approach. It didn't work anymore. Why? Because:

Sales reps don't read it. I'd quiz someone on something from the playbook, and they'd have no clue.
Buyer behavior has changed dramatically.
Buyers don't want to talk to sales anymore. They want access to information, self-serve, and do their own competitive reviews.
Traditional methodologies like MEDIC (Metrics, Economic buyer, Decision criteria, Identify pain, Champion) are outdated and need to be thrown away. (And yes, I've said this to the face of the guy who created MEDIC!)

Building a data-driven sales approach

So, how do we create a data-driven approach that actually works in today's sales environment? Here are a few key steps:

1. Understand your metrics

First things first, you need to understand your metrics. And I'm not talking about vanity metrics like click rates. I'm talking about metrics that actually impact results.

Pick five to ten metrics that truly matter. How do you know if they matter? Break them. See what happens if you change or lose a particular metric. If you can't find a discernible impact, it's probably not worth tracking – at least not at a high level.

And remember, if you're not looking at it every day, it doesn't matter.

2. Map your buyer journey

Understanding your buyer journey is crucial. Don't just stop at the sale – map out the entire customer journey, including retention.

How do you do this? Talk to your customers. It's amazing how many will give you the answers you need if you just ask.

This doesn't have to be a massive data effort. I've done this in a 50-person company with no product marketing team and no revenue operations team. You can do this on the back of a napkin if you have to!

3. Embrace the "choose your own adventure" sales model

Remember those "choose your own adventure" books from when you were a kid? That's where sales needs to go. We have to let the customer choose their own adventure, and we've got to be there to facilitate that decision.

Figure out the decision points in the buyer journey where you can actually impact and help the buyer. Where do they want help? Where do they need help?

If you can be the sales team that actually delivers on helping the customer when they need it, when they want it, you're going to get the sale.

Leveraging technology in modern sales

Now, let's talk tools. There are literally thousands of sales tools on the market now, and it can be overwhelming. Here are a few categories to consider:

🤖 AI-powered prospecting tools:

These use AI to research prospects, write personalized emails, and build cadences. Tools like OneShot.ai are pushing the boundaries here.

🔍 Sales engagement platforms:

Tools like Outreach are evolving to provide visibility across multiple stages and offer AI-driven insights.

💰 ROI and value selling tools:

For larger enterprise deals, tools like ValueCore can help change the conversation early in the process to focus on value and ROI.

📈 Management enablement and forecasting tools:

These provide visibility across the organization and give leadership confidence in the sales process. Collective is an interesting one to watch in this space.

The future of sales

As we look to the future, here are a few trends I'm keeping my eye on:

AI-guided sales: Imagine hitting a chat room and a video pops up, but it's an AI you're talking to. That's coming very quickly.
Collaborative large sales models: Tools like Collective are working on optimizing across positions on the field, much like in baseball.
AI-guided coaching: As teams grow, AI can help identify who to learn from and who needs coaching.
Autonomous discovery: Letting customers tell you the information they want you to have, rather than forcing them through a rigid discovery process.

Wrapping up

So there you have it, folks. The art of modern sales with dynamic playbooks.

It's about understanding the grind, embracing data, mapping the buyer journey, and leveraging technology to create a sales process that truly helps your customers.

Remember, just like in baseball, sales is still an art. But by incorporating these data-driven approaches, we can create a winning strategy that adapts to the modern buyer's needs.

Now, get out there and play ball! Or should I say, sell ball?